ESPRESO — broadcast
20260806 130000 UTC
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[00:00:00] significant profits. In 2024,
[00:00:03] Ukraine earned over 167 million
[00:00:07] dollars from honey, which was the highest figure in the last
[00:00:10] decade. But in the same year, the EU
[00:00:13] renewed duties and quotas on Ukrainian honey. How
[00:00:17] the regulatory policy of the European Union moderates the development of the industry,
[00:00:20] how the situation can be changed by the New EU Agreement with Mercosur
[00:00:24] countries and what post-war prospects
[00:00:27] beekeeping has, we will discuss this first. The guest
[00:00:30] of the program Eduard Krychfalushiy,
[00:00:34] an expert in the honey industry, is also the business director and owner
[00:00:38] of the Ukrainian Honey Group, the companies Organic Export and
[00:00:42] Med Ukraine, which have been operating in the market for more than 10 years and are
[00:00:45] among the leading exporters of Ukrainian
[00:00:48] honey to EU countries, as well as the USA and
[00:00:52] Japan. Today, the company's products are available in almost
[00:00:55] all retail chains in Ukraine. Their net profit
[00:00:59] last year was over 7 million UAH. In
[00:01:02] 2024, Med Ukraine debuted at
[00:01:05] the world's largest exhibition of organic food and
[00:01:09] beverages Biofach in Germany. Eduard
[00:01:12] Krychfalushiy is also a board member of the Association
[00:01:15] of Exporters and Producers of Honey
[00:01:18] of Ukraine. So, on the line from Kyiv is the director of Med
[00:01:22] Ukraine, Eduard
[00:01:31] export-oriented. The industry has remained stable throughout all years
[00:01:35] of the full-scale invasion, and yet, according to the State Customs
[00:01:38] Service, honey exports from Ukraine in 2025,
[00:01:42] compared to 2024, decreased by
[00:01:44] 40%. What are the reasons for such a
[00:01:48] significant drop in exports? First of
[00:01:51] all, it must be said that
[00:01:54] honey is a product of nature, and it depends very much not only on
[00:01:58] the activities, the desire of exporters or the desire
[00:02:01] of beekeepers, it depends on
[00:02:03] whether
[00:02:05] the harvest was sufficient, whether the harvest
[00:02:09] was bad, or whether the harvest was
[00:02:12] good? The harvest year 2025
[00:02:16] was very bad, Ukraine
[00:02:19] collected
[00:02:22] very few monofloral honey, premium
[00:02:25] honey, some varieties
[00:02:28] were not collected at all. The figures that we have today,
[00:02:32] as Ukraine, as an export industry,
[00:02:35] are even optimistic, or
[00:02:38] rather, they are quite good compared to the harvest
[00:02:42] that we actually predicted or felt that
[00:02:45] we had in 2025. In
[00:02:49] 2021, its most
[00:02:51] productive year, Ukraine produced a record
[00:02:55] 95 thousand tons of honey, which accounted for
[00:02:59] 6% of the total
[00:03:01] global volume, but even during the war, the country stably
[00:03:05] maintains its position in the top five world
[00:03:08] honey exporters and ranks first in
[00:03:11] Europe in terms of its production. In
[00:03:14] 2024, it exported over
[00:03:17] 86 thousand tons of this
[00:03:20] high-quality product to the EU. We see a record
[00:03:24] export of honey due to the abolition
[00:03:27] of export restrictions on the European
[00:03:30] market, and in
[00:03:33] 2024, beekeepers earned
[00:03:36] 170 million
[00:03:39] dollars, which is approximately 7%
[00:03:42] of the total agricultural export, and all this despite the fact that during
[00:03:46] Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, according to experts,
[00:03:49] almost 10% of registered apiaries were lost, and before
[00:03:52] the war there were more than 44 thousand
[00:03:56] with two million bee colonies. Some apiaries remained in
[00:04:00] the occupied territories, some were destroyed as a result of hostilities.
[00:04:03] The south of Ukraine, which was the most honey-rich,
[00:04:07] honey-producing region, if we can say so, Mykolaiv, Kherson
[00:04:10] regions, Donetsk, Luhansk, these are regions
[00:04:13] where a lot of sunflowers were grown,
[00:04:17] there was a lot of honey, but now these regions
[00:04:20] are empty, frontline zones also still, many
[00:04:24] beekeepers have left, apiaries
[00:04:27] are destroyed, but even where they physically... survived,
[00:04:30] beekeepers work in conditions of constant danger. Military
[00:04:34] actions lead to the deterioration of the environment, the loss of green
[00:04:38] territories, which directly affects the health of bees
[00:04:41] and the volume of honey. Pesticides are also a challenge
[00:04:45] for beekeepers. Some Ukrainian farmers continue
[00:04:48] to use more than a hundred pesticides allowed in Ukraine,
[00:04:52] but banned in the European Union. These dangerous
[00:04:56] substances can lead to the death of bees, weakening.
[00:05:13] Well, they clearly, some flew away, some, there were
[00:05:16] 18 strong families, 18 and all
[00:05:20] disappeared, beekeepers also say that in recent years
[00:05:23] fields are increasingly less sown with nectar-producing
[00:05:26] crops, according to their estimates, the reduction of the honey-bearing
[00:05:30] base already leads to losses of about
[00:05:33] 10% of honey production volumes, and the continuation
[00:05:36] of this trend can significantly weaken Ukraine's
[00:05:40] export honey resource, in addition...
[00:05:42] The weather in Ukraine in recent years has been extremely unfavorable for
[00:05:46] beekeeping. Spring frosts, summer droughts,
[00:05:49] temperature fluctuations, the industry suffered from serious
[00:05:52] climatic anomalies, which also affected
[00:05:55] honey collection. But, despite the problems, Ukrainian
[00:05:59] beekeeping continues to rely on the experience
[00:06:02] of beekeepers, export demand, and the country's natural
[00:06:05] potential. And as assured by the Union
[00:06:08] of Beekeepers of Ukraine, in 2026,
[00:06:11] Ukraine will indeed have honey. Currently, the collection
[00:06:15] of rapeseed honey is underway, followed by acacia, then linden,
[00:06:18] buckwheat, sunflower, until September. In total, this
[00:06:22] year beekeepers plan to collect up to 80
[00:06:25] tons of honey, most of which will traditionally go
[00:06:29] for export to European
[00:06:31] consumers. The European market is
[00:06:35] dependent on honey imports. The EU does not
[00:06:38] provide itself with this product independently, and Ukraine is one of
[00:06:41] the closest countries with its large production,
[00:06:44] so perhaps that is why since October last year the EU has nevertheless updated
[00:06:47] the rules, increasing the honey quota for Ukraine from 6
[00:06:51] thousand tons to 35,000.
[00:06:54] The relevant ministry expects solid foreign currency revenues to the
[00:06:58] state budget, what could prevent
[00:07:01] this? Well, first of all, it must be said that
[00:07:04] the liberalization of trade,
[00:07:07] which brought
[00:07:10] increased tariffs.
[00:07:13] restrictions, they indeed give more
[00:07:16] opportunities for competition for the Ukrainian market
[00:07:19] in the European market, but it is also very important
[00:07:23] that not only Ukrainian
[00:07:25] honey, and it is not the largest in terms
[00:07:29] of consumption or import, not consumption, but
[00:07:33] import to European, to the European market,
[00:07:37] and we can only say that
[00:07:40] thanks to the fact that...
[00:07:44] duty-free import to the European Union for Ukrainian
[00:07:47] honey has increased, the European consumer will receive
[00:07:50] more quality product, as Ukraine
[00:07:54] will replace,
[00:07:55] will replace
[00:07:59] less quality players that are currently
[00:08:02] present in the European market, therefore, from the point of view of the European
[00:08:05] consumer, this is very good, from the point of view
[00:08:08] of the Ukrainian producer, this is also
[00:08:12] a strategic... partnership is also a constant,
[00:08:15] constant buyer and planning opportunities in the
[00:08:18] long-term perspective, building
[00:08:21] long-term strategies. Since
[00:08:24] May 1st this year, an agreement on free trade between the EU and
[00:08:27] Mercosur countries has entered into force.
[00:08:31] Honey is on the list of goods to which
[00:08:33] this agreement applies. Argentina and Brazil are among
[00:08:37] the leading world honey exporters. Uruguay is
[00:08:40] also significant. Paraguay, although not among
[00:08:44] the world's leading leaders in this industry, also exports
[00:08:48] honey. How will this affect the redistribution
[00:08:51] of the European market and will it affect Ukrainian exports
[00:08:55] to Europe, in your opinion? Of course it will affect it, because
[00:08:58] well, what happened with Ukrainian, or rather the
[00:09:02] opportunities that opened up for Ukrainian honey
[00:09:06] with the increase in the quota, the same opportunities will open up for Mercosur
[00:09:09] countries, that is, we understand that...
[00:09:12] the competitiveness of honey in the European market
[00:09:16] will increase, er, here
[00:09:19] it is very important that the competitiveness is based on
[00:09:21] quality, because all these er
[00:09:25] tariff and non-tariff restrictions lead to price
[00:09:29] er confrontations, price
[00:09:32] competition, and this is quite
[00:09:35] a critical moment when
[00:09:38] the producer needs to guarantee
[00:09:42] quality. But it is necessary to reduce or
[00:09:45] to be competitive in price and try
[00:09:49] to be competitive. Ah, yes, this
[00:09:53] leads to the need for efficiency, the need
[00:09:56] for improvement, of their,
[00:10:00] production processes,
[00:10:03] production, equipment, in order
[00:10:06] to be competitive. We are in the global market, we
[00:10:10] are not, we are not an independent player. We will not
[00:10:13] compete, Ukraine will not compete with
[00:10:16] pseudo-honeys or honeys of unknown
[00:10:20] origin, we are forced to compete with
[00:10:24] and will with leading
[00:10:27] producers in the world, and Mercosur countries
[00:10:31] are those leading producers, yes, they get more access to
[00:10:34] the European market, yes, we will meet, our
[00:10:36] importers will meet their
[00:10:40] offers, will meet their quality, and then there will be a battle
[00:10:44] for the end consumer, who will win, which honey
[00:10:46] is the best and which taste?
[00:10:49] Ukrainian, Ukrainian,
[00:10:52] undoubtedly, and how does it differ, how would you briefly explain,
[00:10:56] we are, in fact, responsible producers,
[00:10:59] who primarily talk about quality, a large
[00:11:03] agricultural area, great opportunities for collecting
[00:11:06] nectar, er, quite developed
[00:11:09] beekeeping, culture, honey
[00:11:13] production, ah, technologies that are currently
[00:11:17] used for processing, which Ukraine possesses, and
[00:11:21] er, this is a fact.
[00:11:25] and factors that Ukraine will be and is a worthy
[00:11:28] player, our quality today
[00:11:32] is uncompromising,
[00:11:34] and in many, in many countries Ukrainian honey
[00:11:38] occupies a sufficiently significant,
[00:11:41] significant percentage in blends
[00:11:45] with other countries. In one of your interviews, you said
[00:11:49] that the export market, like a vacuum cleaner, it can
[00:11:52] completely suck out all Ukrainian honey, and Ukrainians themselves
[00:11:56] love honey, on average one adult eats more than
[00:12:00] a kilogram of honey per year, so is there a honey deficit in the domestic market
[00:12:03] due to high exports, export,
[00:12:06] export, er,
[00:12:10] purchasing offers that are currently
[00:12:13] present in the Ukrainian market,
[00:12:16] led to the fact that Ukrainian consumers
[00:12:19] are forced to pay European, and even
[00:12:22] higher prices for a
[00:12:26] kilogram of honey produced in
[00:12:30] Ukraine, yes we try to maintain
[00:12:33] the retail price in
[00:12:36] a controlled corridor, but
[00:12:40] in fact it is very difficult,
[00:12:42] no one wants to sell at a loss
[00:12:46] or at a minus, having opportunities to export,
[00:12:49] and we as an exporter, we as
[00:12:52] a player in the domestic market, having... both options in
[00:12:56] one balance, we also have a difficult choice,
[00:13:00] where to sell to the European market with a premium
[00:13:03] or to the Ukrainian market at a loss. The average price range
[00:13:07] for honey in Ukraine is 300 to 450
[00:13:10] UAH, so for a liter for most varieties, since
[00:13:14] 2022 prices have tripled,
[00:13:16] and what specifically caused it, besides
[00:13:20] what you just said, that obviously it's better
[00:13:23] to always get a better
[00:13:27] price, what influences these
[00:13:30] increases and will this trend continue,
[00:13:33] the ceiling price is the world
[00:13:37] price, if
[00:13:40] the honey market, the market, the market
[00:13:43] of production, unfavorable weather conditions, human
[00:13:46] activity,
[00:13:48] wars, will affect production
[00:13:51] and there will be a shortage, this
[00:13:55] product cannot be produced by man, it cannot,
[00:13:58] or the one that can be produced will not meet
[00:14:01] the characteristics of a healthy
[00:14:04] product,
[00:14:06] this will lead to further price increases,
[00:14:10] there is no other option here, are we at the peak today,
[00:14:13] I think so, the consumer has not yet received
[00:14:17] sufficient income and is not receiving such an increase
[00:14:20] in income, he cannot afford
[00:14:23] to move further
[00:14:26] up, but this is a market, this
[00:14:30] is the ratio of prices, supply and demand. This year's
[00:14:33] first harvest, the so-called May honey,
[00:14:37] will soon appear on sale, and it is
[00:14:40] this spring honey that experts call the most
[00:14:43] falsified, why, what percentage
[00:14:46] of falsified products ends up on store shelves, and can
[00:14:50] it be said that in Europe it is less than in Ukraine? Here
[00:14:53] we need to understand what... what you call falsification,
[00:14:56] because the most common thing
[00:14:59] that can
[00:15:02] be linked to May honey
[00:15:05] is when it has the botanical origin
[00:15:09] of acacia honey under the guise of May honey,
[00:15:12] there is not much difference between
[00:15:15] the tastes and physical characteristics of
[00:15:18] May and acacia honey, and
[00:15:22] for the end consumer,
[00:15:25] this difference may not
[00:15:28] be very noticeable, and
[00:15:31] the substitution of
[00:15:35] May honey or acacia
[00:15:37] honey, or rather vice versa, acacia
[00:15:40] honey with May honey, is a very common phenomenon, if we
[00:15:43] are talking about falsification by replacing
[00:15:46] it with artificial sugars, then I am
[00:15:49] forced to say that in Ukraine, fortunately, we
[00:15:53] do not have any problems with this, because all
[00:15:56] falsifications that occur, occur outside
[00:15:59] the Ukrainian market, Ukraine, fortunately, does not have
[00:16:02] access to the global honey market and the possibility
[00:16:06] of importing honey. to Ukraine are
[00:16:09] closed, we do not have access to these
[00:16:13] admixtures, to these honeys, not,
[00:16:16] not, of unnatural origin, and
[00:16:20] the possibility of falsifying Ukrainian honey on
[00:16:23] the territory of Ukraine is absolutely non-existent, what
[00:16:26] is controlled is very, very, very well controlled
[00:16:30] by the buyer himself, no Polish buyer, no
[00:16:34] German buyer, no global buyer...
[00:16:37] does not buy honey without appropriate verification of its
[00:16:41] authenticity, of its origin, geographical with
[00:16:44] all indicators. Today
[00:16:48] there is a sufficiently large, large range
[00:16:51] of analytical methods that allow
[00:16:54] to determine whether er honey
[00:16:58] contains er admixtures of artificial
[00:17:01] syrups or not,
[00:17:04] and I want to say that, well...
[00:17:07] the problem should be sought outside
[00:17:19] traditionally buy honey not in stores, but directly from beekeepers, or
[00:17:23] at markets or through acquaintances, and just like Poles, if I want
[00:17:27] to buy honey at a supermarket, what
[00:17:29] should I pay attention to, how do I distinguish
[00:17:32] good honey from
[00:17:35] worse, real honey, say, from,
[00:17:39] perhaps not, because all jars of honey say
[00:17:43] natural honey always, you, if you look at your consumer
[00:17:46] basket, you will find there items from other
[00:17:49] products of which you are a regular consumer, and if you ask yourself
[00:17:53] how you became such a regular consumer there, whether
[00:17:56] it's milk, or sour cream, or perhaps some bread, the same thing should
[00:18:00] happen with honey,
[00:18:03] er, trust in the producer, er, which is built
[00:18:08] over years, in my opinion, this
[00:18:11] is key, yes, there are many
[00:18:13] players in the market, many,
[00:18:16] but that doesn't mean anything, among them
[00:18:20] there are good players, these can
[00:18:23] be farmers with a small farm store, these can be
[00:18:26] craft products, these can be industrial
[00:18:30] packers,
[00:18:32] I am sure that among all these positions there are both good ones and
[00:18:35] positions that have opportunities for improvement
[00:18:39] 100%. Price is not
[00:18:42] decisive
[00:18:44] in your choice, neither the cheapest nor
[00:18:48] the most expensive, this is not, this will not mean that
[00:18:52] it is the worst or the best, uh-huh, from this year in
[00:18:55] the EU new rules began to apply, according to which the country
[00:18:59] of origin of honey must be clearly indicated on
[00:19:01] the label, and I don't know if there are such rules in Ukraine
[00:19:05] at all and if Ukraine is ready for those,
[00:19:08] yes, for those EU rules, well, then, please
[00:19:12] tell me, do you know how many
[00:19:15] labels will now feature the word
[00:19:19] Ukraine, if we are the second supplier in terms of
[00:19:22] consumption volume in the European market, then I want to say that we
[00:19:26] should be on at least every second jar,
[00:19:29] er placed, placed on
[00:19:33] the shelves of European supermarkets, we must be
[00:19:36] indicated as by origin, the question is whether
[00:19:39] this will happen, well, this is a question for the operators, for the end
[00:19:43] operators who, who, who produce, what alarmed me in these new
[00:19:47] rules is that if honey is mixed, i.e., from several countries, on
[00:19:50] the label there will be a clear list of all these countries
[00:19:54] of origin, and now we are only beginning to understand, as
[00:19:57] consumers, that one jar of honey can
[00:20:01] be a mixture from China, India, Ukraine, can
[00:20:04] that be, or is this a normal practice. that it is
[00:20:08] so heavily mixed, let's, why is it so, explain,
[00:20:11] it is so, but I want to say that it should
[00:20:14] not be so, it should not be so, I very often, I very often
[00:20:18] compare honey by product with
[00:20:21] er wine, we have
[00:20:24] red wine that has different
[00:20:28] varieties, there is Cabernet, there is
[00:20:31] Merlot, there is Sangiovese, there is
[00:20:33] Pinot Noir, and then all these and a large number
[00:20:37] of others, and then all these varieties have
[00:20:39] geographical, some are from South
[00:20:43] Africa, others are from Chile, and a third is
[00:20:46] from Bordeaux, and Sangiovese from Piedmont, and all
[00:20:50] have different prices and different tastes, have we ever drunk with you
[00:20:54] Bordeaux, Piedmont, Sangiovese, there
[00:20:57] is Merlot, Chile, plus Italy, plus France Bordeaux, no, we
[00:21:00] haven't, why is this happening with honey? Well, I
[00:21:04] want to say, this is a bad practice, because Ukrainian honey in
[00:21:07] its, in its monofloral
[00:21:10] performance, it has predominant, predominant taste
[00:21:14] characteristics, why is it used in blended
[00:21:17] mixtures, in order to improve... cheaper,
[00:21:21] more or less quality
[00:21:25] honeys and achieve a competitive
[00:21:38] mostly. It does not enter the market with specific
[00:21:41] brands. Your colleagues call the situation
[00:21:45] temporarily acceptable, but strategically
[00:21:48] unprofitable. As in every industry, please explain why,
[00:21:52] here I want to say that we are just
[00:21:55] referring, I am talking now mostly about myself, about my
[00:21:59] company, yes we today supply
[00:22:03] more than half of the volume we produce,
[00:22:06] already retail packaged product with added value,
[00:22:10] uh-huh, er, Ukraine, Ukraine will
[00:22:14] increase processing capabilities.
[00:22:18] creating a product with added value and entering
[00:22:21] sales markets, here it is necessary to understand that
[00:22:25] ah, this is not just honey anymore, because when you
[00:22:28] enter the retail shelf
[00:22:31] market, then it's not just about
[00:22:34] price, here it's already about
[00:22:38] marketing, here it's already about distribution, here it's already about
[00:22:42] various sales programs, about
[00:22:45] operational activities in the end markets. and a very
[00:22:49] large number of things that today the
[00:22:52] operators, Ukraine, the industry, perhaps,
[00:22:55] it's not yet time for this, given the situation
[00:22:59] in which Ukraine is today,
[00:23:02] but I am 100% sure that the Ukrainian industry
[00:23:05] will go this way. In Ukraine, most
[00:23:09] honey producers are private, before the war about
[00:23:13] 2000 beekeepers were
[00:23:15] employed in beekeeping, those farms whose honey went into
[00:23:19] industrial processing.
[00:23:24] How has the statistics changed during
[00:23:26] the war, please tell me, and how is the logistics built, this path
[00:23:30] from a private apiary to a barrel, for export
[00:23:33] or for the shelves of Ukrainian supermarkets.
[00:23:36] Beekeepers, also people, also
[00:23:39] lived, live, or lived
[00:23:42] in the occupied territories left, or
[00:23:45] live in territories that suffered
[00:23:49] aggression. military actions, beekeeping
[00:23:52] has decreased, that's a fact, movement capabilities, we are talking about
[00:23:56] not amateur beekeepers, with two-four hives,
[00:23:59] we are talking about beekeepers who can and can produce
[00:24:02] some industrial volumes, and this is already
[00:24:05] the need for movement, this is already the need for placing nomadic
[00:24:09] apiaries, this also today has very large
[00:24:12] restrictions, regarding night movement across
[00:24:16] Ukraine, the availability of workers,
[00:24:20] it's not only the beekeeper who works during this period, he hired
[00:24:24] several people to help during the main
[00:24:26] honey flow. Beekeeping is going through a difficult time,
[00:24:30] we are going through a difficult time, as honey, honey
[00:24:34] operators. What will be the development of beekeeping, I can only
[00:24:37] say here, this is force majeure, this is war, and
[00:24:41] we can stop supplying this honey tomorrow in one
[00:24:44] day, or we can change
[00:24:47] the direction of development and... and return
[00:24:51] the unlost, lost volume of production, we keep
[00:24:55] our fingers crossed only for the second option, thank you very much
[00:24:58] for for working so hard
[00:25:01] and really caring about
[00:25:04] beekeeping, I met at fairs Transcarpathian honey from
[00:25:08] blueberries, so-called yafin honey,
[00:25:11] also honey from Ivan-tea, or for example coriander honey from
[00:25:15] Podillia, this is called craft
[00:25:18] honeys, how much of it is on the market and can it become
[00:25:22] a highlight of Ukrainian agricultural exports?
[00:25:25] I am skeptical about whether it has the potential
[00:25:29] to be more popular than acacia or
[00:25:32] linden or buckwheat, we call these honeys niche
[00:25:36] honeys, they have their consumer,
[00:25:40] but there won't be enough
[00:25:44] of them to be able
[00:25:46] to.
[00:26:02] to challenge some trendy world trends for
[00:26:06] its market? it's difficult to answer
[00:26:09] this question yes, because we depend on the
[00:26:13] botany, on the organic matter that grows in
[00:26:16] Ukraine, and we will be sellers, we will
[00:26:19] be producers and sellers of those
[00:26:22] varieties, those plants, that botany, which
[00:26:25] well, which already exists, which is known, and
[00:26:28] well, unless the climate changes and we
[00:26:31] excuse me. will start growing there, well, I don't know, some
[00:26:35] subtropical crops, and we will be able to harvest something else, but
[00:26:38] we will continue to produce acacia honey, we will
[00:26:42] continue to produce linden, buckwheat honey, we
[00:26:45] will produce rapeseed and
[00:26:48] sunflower honey, this is what will be noticeable in world
[00:26:51] trade. Mr. Eduard, our program
[00:26:54] is called reconstruction, and in your opinion, how should
[00:26:58] the industry be transformed in post-war reconstruction
[00:27:01] to be attractive to investments, profitable,
[00:27:05] with great potential for development. It exists, it will exist,
[00:27:08] the restrictions that the war imposes today,
[00:27:12] they are exactly those restrictions. I am 100%
[00:27:15] sure that in the absence of force majeure,
[00:27:19] force majeure risks for foreign partners,
[00:27:21] investors, we would have a completely different size
[00:27:25] and completely different indicators of our
[00:27:51] annually, why does the EU invest huge funds to support
[00:27:54] beekeeping, up to 20 thousand tons, Poland
[00:27:58] is a leading producer of honey in the EU, but is
[00:28:01] that enough? for meeting domestic
[00:28:04] demand. Up to 46%
[00:28:08] of honey imported into the EU is adulterated. What
[00:28:12] measures is the European Commission taking and are they considered effective
[00:28:16] in Poland? 45 thousand tons
[00:28:19] over 5 years. How can the new EU agreement with Mercosur countries
[00:28:23] affect the European honey
[00:28:26] market? According to Fortune
[00:28:29] Business Inside, the global honey market volume
[00:28:33] will reach 10.5 billion
[00:28:36] dollars in 2026, and in just 10 years this amount could double.
[00:28:40] What share of this progressive market does
[00:28:43] Poland occupy, what new challenges might
[00:28:47] Polish beekeepers face this year, and what unique
[00:28:51] innovations are they implementing? We will ask
[00:28:53] our guest in the studio. Waldemar Kudla, Vice-President
[00:28:57] of the Polish Beekeeping Association, founded and manages
[00:29:01] a private company producing honey with a mobile
[00:29:04] apiary of 60 hives. Since 2012,
[00:29:07] he has held the position of head of the Legnica Land Beekeepers'
[00:29:11] Union. Since then, he has been a co-organizer
[00:29:13] of the Lower Silesian Honey and Wine Festival in Przemków,
[00:29:17] the largest beekeeping event in Poland. Since
[00:29:20] 2022, he has been the head of the Beekeeping Group
[00:29:24] at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of
[00:29:27] Poland, and is also the president of the Federation of Beekeeping
[00:29:30] Organizations Apislavia, which unites 18 countries
[00:29:34] of Eastern Europe and Central
[00:29:36] Asia. So, in the studio is the Vice-President of the Polish
[00:29:40] Beekeeping Association, Waldemar
[00:29:55] beekeeping for the European economy and food security is
[00:29:59] critical, without exaggeration.
[00:30:02] It is enough to mention that about 80%
[00:30:06] of crops and wild plants in the EU depend on pollination
[00:30:09] by bees,
[00:30:11] and this brings the EU economy at least 15
[00:30:15] billion euros annually, meaning that bees
[00:30:18] are not only producers of honey, but also the foundation
[00:30:21] of agricultural sustainability and biodiversity
[00:30:24] conservation. Exactly, here I would only
[00:30:28] clarify one thing: Pollinating insects are not only
[00:30:31] bees. However, the bee plays a leading role among
[00:30:34] pollinating insects, because it creates huge
[00:30:37] colonies. Colonies that are already ready for
[00:30:41] work in early spring, for pollination, for
[00:30:43] contributing to larger harvests,
[00:30:47] and these harvests are indeed much, much
[00:30:50] more. For example, for rapeseed they can increase the yield
[00:30:53] by approximately 30%. For
[00:30:56] some plants, for example, raspberries by
[00:30:58] 100%. But a bee or another insect is needed.